"I'm heading back to New Zealand tonight and back into The Hobbit," Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter in the THR Video Lounge at the film festival. "On the day I arrive I'm going back into the cutting room."

Fans can rest easy knowing that the highly anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel is on schedule for its December release, with shooting set to resume in February. So what work remains left for Jackson and his crew?

"About 100 days of shooting," he said. "Which will take us through to July, and then the first movie comes out in December."

Jackson was joined by West of Memphis director Amy Berg, whose film was received to an emotional audience during its Jan. 20 premiere at the MARC theatre. On hand for the showing were Jackson and wife Fran Walsh, who produced the film alongside Damien Echols and wife Lorri Davis. Victims' parents John Mark Byers and Pam Hobbs were also in attendance. The film has generated buzz as a result of positive reviews and revealing new interviews, which could provide reason to open another investigation that implicates Terry Hobbs in the infamous 1993 murders of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.